Part 23 (1/2)

”That's right. No liquor served on Sundays.”

”Anything else I need to know?” Caleb asked.

”Not that I can think of, but if you have any questions, just ask Lacy tonight.”

”Lacy's the bartender, right?”

Jazzy nodded.

Caleb grinned.

”That's it. You can go now,” Jazzy told him. ”We're finished.”

Caleb's grin broadened. ”That's where you're wrong.” Leaning into her, but not close enough for their bodies to actually touch, he placed both palms flat on the wall, flanking Jazzy's head. ”You and I, Miss Jasmine, are just getting started.”

His nearness took her breath away. Before she was able to actually speak, Caleb winked at her, then turned around and walked out of the kitchen.

Jazzy released a relieved breath. d.a.m.n, that guy was lethal, even in small doses. She started to run after him and tell him she'd changed her mind about giving him the bouncer's job at Jazzy's. But she didn't. She needed a bouncer. Caleb needed a job. He'd certainly handled Jamie Upton with expert ease last night. Obviously Caleb wasn't easily intimidated, a quality that came in handy if you were a bouncer at a juke joint. So, she'd give him his trial run and see what happened.

Who knows, maybe he was right. Maybe things were just getting started between them.

Dillon Carson arrived at the Congregational Church at precisely two-thirty, the time Esther Stowe had set for them to meet.

”Come to the side door,” she'd told him. ”I'll leave it open for you. Be sure to lock it from the inside after you come in. I'll be waiting for you in the sanctuary.”

Dillon had been interested in the minister's wife for quite some time, and from the sidelong glances she'd given him for the past month or so whenever they happened to meet, he'd figured it was only a matter of time before he had the woman flat on her back. So he hadn't been all that surprised when she'd telephoned yesterday to set up this afternoon's little rendezvous. What he hadn't expected was that she'd want them to meet at the church.

He was glad he'd gotten a chance for a nap. He'd been up most of the night. After returning to his apartment at ten this morning, he'd showered, shaved, and dropped onto his bed, dead on his feet. He'd wakened at one, in time to eat a bite before getting ready for his rendezvous with Esther. The lovely, fascinating Esther.

As he walked down the hallway toward the sanctuary, he wondered if she would actually want them to do it right there on one of the red velvet pews or maybe even on the pulpit floor where her husband bellowed out h.e.l.lfire-and-brimstone sermons every Sunday. Just the thought aroused him. He liked kinky. Actually he liked s.e.x in any form. He'd been into S&M for a while and found it satisfying, as long as he was on the master's side of the whip. But if Esther was into the rough stuff, his bet would be that she'd want to be the one inflicting the pain.

When he arrived at the sanctuary, he found it empty. What the h.e.l.l? Where was she?

”Esther?”

The lights dimmed suddenly, throwing the room into semi-darkness. Dillon swallowed hard. What sort of game was she playing?

The lights above the baptismal flashed on, and the velvet curtains swung open simultaneously. Water splashed upward and outward as a body rose from the depths. With arms spreading wide, Esther Stowe emerged from the baptismal like Aphrodite rising from the ocean. Dillon's mouth gaped as he watched the naked woman step out and onto the red carpeted area behind the pulpit. She laughed bawdily and shook her head, whipping the long, wet strands of her white-blond hair about her face and sending a shower of moisture whirling all around her.

Good G.o.d, she was beautiful. Voluptuous. Large, round b.r.e.a.s.t.s with tight nipples. Long, slender legs. Tiny waist. He watched her every movement, stirred to excitement by her sensuality. She opened her arms and beckoned him to come to her. His s.e.x swelled and throbbed.

”Oh, baby, am I going to give you what you're asking for.” As he approached her, he noticed that her pubic area was shaved clean, and just above the pubic bone a black tattoo glistened. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off the emblem.

Following his line of vision, she glanced down at the tattoo. ”Don't you recognize the Seal of Zepar?” She fondled herself with the tip of her middle finger. ”Zepar, one of the great Spirits of the Firmament, inflames women with love for men. He has the power to transform a woman into any shape for the pleasure of her lover.”

”The shape you're in right now pleases me just fine,” Dillon said, still transfixed by the small tattoo.

Within seconds he reached out and dragged her up against him. Her wide mouth opened and she licked him from chin to ear, then she delved between them, grabbed his hand and shoved it between her legs.

”I want the first time to be very fast and very hard,” she told him. ”And I want it now!”

He stuck a couple of fingers up inside her and found her gus.h.i.+ng with moisture. She was ready; more than ready. She was hot and wet and panting.

When she unb.u.t.toned his slacks and undid the zipper, he stood still and let her handle everything. Within minutes she had his p.e.n.i.s free from his briefs and was leading him toward one of the large golden chairs on the pulpit podium. She shoved him down onto the red velvet seat, then straddled him. Positioning herself just right, she slid down over him in one quick fluid move that implanted his s.e.x to the hilt within her.

d.a.m.n, she was so hot and so tight and...She bit his neck, then raked her fingers over his s.h.i.+rt, popping a couple of b.u.t.tons in the process.

Dillon grasped her hips and pumped her up and down. The friction of her tight, milking body brought him closer and closer to the edge. He was more than half gone already and hadn't been inside more than a couple of minutes.

Panting and gasping, she tossed back her head as she rode him. The world closed in around them. He couldn't see. Couldn't think. All he could do was feel.

His climax hit him hard. The minute he groaned with release, Esther went wild. She grabbed his shoulders and rode him like a madwoman. She screamed when she came, then fell limp against him. Sitting beneath her, his heartbeat drumming in his ears, he lifted her head from his shoulder, grabbed her face with one hand, and gave her a tongue-thrusting kiss.

When she came up for air, she smiled wickedly. ”I knew you'd be good at this. I can always tell by just looking at a man.”

”He was good, wasn't he, my dear,” the Reverend Mr. Stowe said.

Dillon gulped. G.o.d d.a.m.n it, when had Esther's husband walked in? h.e.l.l, he should have known f.u.c.king in the church was bound to get them into trouble.

When Dillon started to shove Esther off him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed. ”Don't get upset. Everything's all right.”

”How is that possible? Your husband just walked in and caught us-”

”He didn't just walk in,” Esther said. ”Haden's been watching us the whole time.” She sneaked a glance over her shoulder, then held out a hand and wriggled her fingers. ”Come here, darling, and tell Dillon how much you enjoy watching other men f.u.c.k your wife.”

Chapter 18.

Genny roused from her semi-asleep state, stretched languidly, and sat up in bed. The room lay in cool, gray shadows, a minimum of sunlight penetrating the windows. Before even glancing at the bedside clock, she surmised it was quite late in the day, probably after four in the afternoon. Undoubtedly she had slept the day away; but the rest had revived her. The last thing she remembered was a sleepy glance at Dallas sitting across the room in the corner chair. He'd been watching her-watching over her. But he was no longer here. The room was empty. Not even Drudwyn was anywhere to be seen. Only when she rose from the bed and placed her feet on the cold floor did she realize she was in her sock feet. Her boots had been placed neatly at the foot of the bed. She picked up the boots and put them on.

Wonder where Dallas is? She knew he hadn't left her alone. His protective instincts toward her had become too strong for him to leave her unguarded. When she opened her bedroom door and went out into the hall, she heard voices coming from the kitchen. Female voices. Arguing voices. Mercy, it was Sally and Ludie.

Genny hurried into the kitchen, then paused just inside the doorway, realizing that neither old lady was aware of her presence.

”I say we wake her if she's not up by five,” Sally said. ”The gal needs to eat. Dallas said she barely touched her breakfast. She's skinny enough as it is. A strong wind would blow her away.”

”Let her sleep. She'll wake up when she's good and ready. Dallas said the poor little thing was totally exhausted.”

”You know she always gets like that whenever she uses her witchy ways. Melva Mae was the same.” Sally went about setting the kitchen table, paying no heed to Ludie. ”I'm waking her at five and we can all eat together before Dallas goes back into town.”

”Genny's talents aren't witchy ways and you d.a.m.n well know it,” Ludie corrected. ”Ain't nothing but pure goodness in that child.”

”You think I don't know that.” Sally's face hardened as she glared at her best friend. ”Genny practices white magic, same as Melva Mae did.”

”You're a crazy old woman,” Ludie said quietly, but loud enough to be easily heard.

”Who're you calling crazy?”